The infant exposure to common intestinal bacteria to blame?

Colorectal cancer levels are climbing worldwide, with a particularly alarming increase in young adults under the age of 50. Researchers now believe that they may have discovered a culprit hidden behind the medical mystery. A recent study suggests that early exposure to a toxin produced by harmful strains of E. Coli could be a possible driver behind the overvoltage.

In the latest study published in the journal Nature, the researchers found that infantile exposure to the Colibactin, a toxin produced by certain strains of E. Coli, damage DNA and these changes increase the risk of intestine cancer before the age of 50.

In an analysis of the large -scale genome of 981 colorectal cancer in 11 countries, the researchers noted a distinct diagram of DNA mutations caused by the Colibactin. These specific DNA models were more than three times more frequent in patients under the age of 40 compared to those over 70.

Interestingly, these genetic fingerprints were not only seen in young adults, but more often in countries with the highest rates of early colorectal cancer, indicating a possible link between bacterial exposure and the increase in the number of young adults affected in the world.

“These mutation models are a kind of historical file in the genome, and they indicate early exposure to Colibactin as an engine of early disease,” said the main study, Ludmil Alexandrov, in a press release.

“If someone acquires one of these driver’s changes when he is 10 years old, he could be decades in advance for the development of colorectal cancer, obtaining him at 40 years instead of 60,” said Alexandrov.

While previous studies including previous research from the same team had linked the Colibactin to 10 to 15% of all cases of colorectal cancer, they did not differentiate themselves between younger and older patients.

“When we started this project, we do not plan to focus on early colorectal cancer. Our original goal was to examine the world models of colorectal cancer to understand why some countries have much higher rates than others. But as we are engaging in data, one of the most interesting and striking conclusions was the frequency of changes linked to Colibactin.

Researchers are now exploring innovative means to translate these results into early detection and prevention tools. A promising idea is a stool test designed to detect markers linked to Colibactin, which could help identify individuals at higher risk of colorectal cancer early. They also study the potential of probiotic therapies aimed at rebalancing the intestinal microbiome in children to reduce the risk later in life.